This invention relates to methods and devices for effecting a control of the bladder, for persons who are incontinent or otherwise in need of such assistance.
In the past, various devices have been proposed and produced for assisting a person who for one reason or another is no longer able to adequately control the bladder function. Some of these prior devices involved valving mechanisms intended to be implanted in or associated with the urethra. Other prior devices work differently, involving a conditioning of the responses of the individual patient in such a manner that muscle control is had, to accomplish the desired result.
Valves intended for implantation in the urethra in most cases cause considerable discomfort, and are not especially satisfactory even though the function that is desired, is attained. Also, valves and/or electrodes inserted in body cavities are uncomfortable, and in some cases can cause irritation and distress which detracts from the beneficial effect. The large size of many such prior devices has limited their usefulness due to the discomfort in addition to other drawbacks incidental to the external carrying of adjunct equipment. As a general rule, most prior devices did not represent a desirable solution to the problem, for the above reasons.
Moreover, these prior devices had limited capabilities since they could not provide electrical energy of different characteristics, to specifically suit the individual patient, and one or another particular kind of electrode disposition, arrangement or set of conditions.